The purpose of this study is to determine if 3-dimensional finger force training is an effective tool in restoring hand function post stroke. Persons who survived a stroke 3 to 12 months ago and have a hand impairment will be eligible to participate in this study. Participants will be asked to come to the laboratory to practice controlling the finger force generation 3 times a week for 6 weeks. Participants will see their performance on a computer screen. Participants will also come to the laboratory for additional 4-7 visits for assessments of their upper extremity function. The total duration of the study will be 2.5 months.

Hand disability after stroke has a profound negative impact on functional ability and independence. Hand therapy may be augmented with sensory stimulation for better outcomes. We have developed a novel sensory stimulation - unfelt vibration applied via a wristwatch. In this study, we will determine if combining this stimulation with hand task practice is superior to hand task practice alone.

The purpose of the study is to compare the effects of apixaban (also known as Eliquis®) with aspirin in patients with atrial fibrillation and a recent brain hemorrhage to see which is better in preventing strokes and death.

Subjects will be in the research study for up to 3 years (minimum of 1 year). About 700 people will take part in this study at approximately 125 sites throughout the United States.

After a stroke, many people experience a language impairment called aphasia. One of the most debilitating types of aphasia is non-fluent aphasia. Non-fluent aphasia is defined by significantly reduced speech production, with the speaker producing only a few words or even less. Speech entrainment therapy (SET) is a treatment that has been shown to increase fluency in people with non-fluent aphasia. Our study looks to define the best dose of SET that leads to sustained improvements in spontaneous speech production.
Participants who are eligible will undergo baseline language testing, an MRI, and will be randomized into one of 4 treatment groups: SET for 3 weeks, SET for 4.5 weeks, SET for 6 weeks, and no treatment (control group).

The study team is recruiting 20 adults with spasticity due to chronic stroke and 20 adults with no neurological injuries for a 4 day study over 1 week. In people with chronic stroke, one of the most common and disabling problems is spasticity (increased muscle tone or muscle stiffness). The purpose of this research study is to examine effects of dry needling on the nervous system (pathways between the muscle, spinal cord, and brain) in people with spasticity due to chronic stroke. Dry needling is a procedure in which a thin, stainless steel needle is inserted into your skin to produce a muscle twitch response. It is intended to release a knot in your muscle and relieve pain.

The total study duration is 4 visits over one week. The first visit will take about 1.5 hours, during which the study team will determine the best electrode placement and create a removeable cast of your arm or leg to aid in placing electrodes in the next visits. The second visit will take about 3 hours, during which dry needling will take place, and the fourth and fifth visits will take about 1.5 hour. During all visits you will be asked to participate in examinations of reflexes (muscle responses to non-invasive nerve stimulation) and arm/leg function.

Following a stroke, many individuals have a high risk of falls, which can negatively influence quality of life. Unfortunately, current treatments have not effectively addressed this problem. This study investigates whether two methods of delivering mechanical perturbations during walking have the potential to improve post-stroke walking balance and reduce real-world fall incidence.

An emergency care research study of bleeding in the brain is to be performed in this area.

The Medical University of South Carolina is joining researchers at more than 100 other hospitals across the United States and other countries to conduct a research study of bleeding in the brain called FASTEST. This research study may affect you or someone you know. FASTEST is a research study involving patients who have had bleeding in the brain, also called intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH).

ICH occurs when a weakened blood vessel in the brain breaks and bleeding accumulates in the brain. Most of this bleeding occurs within a few hours of onset of symptoms. The brain injury from ICH is usually very severe, over 40% of people with ICH die within a month, and only 20% can independently care for themselves after 6 months.

There is currently no treatment for ICH that is scientifically proven to improve outcome. The FASTEST research study is being done to determine if recombinant Factor VIIa (rFVIIa), a protein that our body makes to stop bleeding at the site of injury to a blood vessel, can slow bleeding in the brain and improve outcome. rFVIIa is approved for treatment of bleeding in patients who have inherited lack of clotting factors but is not approved for treatment of ICH.

Participants in the FASTEST research study are placed at random, that is by chance, into one of 2 groups. They have an equal chance of getting rFVIIa or placebo (no active ingredient). One group receives rFVIIa intravenously over 2 minutes within two hours of onset of symptoms and the other group receives placebo. We do not know if rFVIIa is better than placebo for patients with bleeding in the brain. The results of the FASTEST research study will help doctors discover if rFVIIa improves outcome in patients with bleeding in the brain. Medical care otherwise will be identical for the two treatment groups, including close management of blood pressure and care within an intensive care unit. Some patients will be enrolled without consent if a family member or representative is not rapidly available.

Before the research study starts, we will consult with the community and need your input as this research may affect you or someone you know, and we need to find out ahead of time what the community thinks about it. Below are links to the the FASTEST site for more information about this research study and how to give your feedback. There are no known risks involved in participating in this survey and your participation is completely voluntary. THANK YOU for your help and time in completing this survey:

Click here for more information or to decline participation in this research study: https://nihstrokenet.org/fastest/home

Click here to access the survey to provide feedback and ask questions:
https://redcap.research.cchmc.org/surveys/?s=YALHC7W838

OR To contact our research study staff at (843-792-3020).
Primary Investigator: Dr. Christine Holmstedt
Study Coordinators: Vicki Streets or Cheryl Grant

Stroke is a leading cause of disability in the U.S. and many Veteran stroke survivors live with severe disability. Despite recent advances in rehabilitation treatments many stroke survivors have persistent physical and mental difficulties such as reduced arm and leg function, difficulty thinking, and depression.
Developing treatments that address these problems is necessary to improve long-term recovery for stroke survivors. Aerobic exercise (AEx) can improve physical and mental function, and reduce depression. Additionally, AEx may enhance physical rehabilitation by making the brain more receptive to, and consequently improving the response to a rehabilitation treatment. Therefore, combining AEx with physical rehabilitation has the potential to improve multiple parts of stroke recovery. This study will examine the effect of combining AEx with physical rehabilitation on physical and mental function in stroke survivors. By gaining a better understanding of the effects of this combined intervention we aim to advance the rehabilitative care of Veteran stroke survivors.

To assess comparable efficacy of aphasia therapy administered via telerehab (aphasia remote therapy; ART) to aphasia therapy administered in clinic (in-clinic therapy; I-CT).

Underserved, racial and ethnic minority communities are experiencing higher rates of COVID-19 cases and associated mortality compared to whites due to long standing social and structural inequities that also drive disparities in chronic diseases such as stroke, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and hypertension. Patients with underlying chronic diseases who are recovering from COVID-19 depend on the support of family and friends (informal caregivers/care partners) who are being exposed to the same pandemic and racial stressors, exposure that can affect the health and quality of life of both partners. The primary goal of this study is to test the efficacy of an adapted, telehealth-enhanced intervention that targets barriers impacting family illness management behaviors of Black/African American (AA) adult COVID-19 survivors and carepartner dyads for improved quality of life and COVID/chronic illness health related outcomes.